


Puzzle boxes

by adelaide_rain



Category: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-01
Updated: 2011-12-01
Packaged: 2017-10-26 17:58:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/286258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adelaide_rain/pseuds/adelaide_rain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All of his life, George Smiley has watched people, trying to unlock their secrets. Watching Ricki Tarr and Peter Guillam is like trying to unlock a puzzle box.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Puzzle boxes

All of his life, George has watched people. His earliest memories are of the arguments his parents had. There were no words, no violence, only looks and gestures; but even as a four-year-old, George had understood.

Years went by and his knowledge of the way the world worked expanded, translating into a better understanding of people. Their motivations, their emotions; how the complicated knots of their relationships pulled them this way and that. The more complex the person is – the more they try to hide – makes understanding them like unlocking a puzzle. It’s a challenge that George has always cherished.

There were no classes, no textbooks. Just watching, always watching. Watch long enough, close enough, and people will tell you their life story without ever saying a word.

The first time George met Peter Guillam he had been delighted to discover such an intricate puzzle. The same when he met Ricki Tarr. Both men seemed simple enough on the surface but underneath were roiling fathoms, oceans of secrets and conflicts. Exactly the kind of people that George likes to unravel.

Peter: quiet and controlled, the quintessential Englishman. Yet so much churned within him that ever-so-rarely it spilled over and George glimpsed the soul-crushing weight behind his eyes.

Ricki, on the other hand, was cocky and brash. All a ruse, of course; a scalphunter must have many masks in his arsenal. That it was hard to see past that mask was what made Ricki so good at his job; being able to see through it was what made George so good at his.

Because of that, the first time Peter and Ricki met wasn’t as much of a revelation as it might have been. Glances, flickering smiles, shifts in stance, biting lips – nothing overt. But there was something there, like lightning flashing between them, so strong that George could almost smell ozone in the air.

As the months stretched into years, George continued to watch them interact: talking, smiling, touching each other’s arms and holding each other’s gaze for a beat too long for it to mean nothing. Recognised it as the delicate beginnings of a love story unfolding. Watched them back away whenever things started to get too close.

George is certain that they never acted on their feelings. Not that it made any difference – it’s still there now, this link between them, as strong as ever.

It was there when Peter hit Ricki.

It was there when Ricki didn’t fight back.

It’s there now, as Ricki touches his swollen lip, hurt in his eyes as he glances at Peter, staring fixedly at the floor and refusing to look at the bruise his fist painted on Ricki’s cheek.

They’re complicated, Peter and Ricki – as people and even more so together.

They’re both in love with other people but George is certain they’re still a little in love with each other.

When Peter touches Ricki’s shoulder, mumbles an apology, the grin Ricki gives says it all. Wide and dazzling, it coaxes a matching one from Peter and they smile at each other like head-over-heels teenagers.

They look away, recover themselves - it’s over in a matter of seconds and then the distance is back along with a flash of longing in both of their faces.

Love’s a strange thing - Ann’s taught him that again and again - and George wonders where their happiness truly lies.

He wonders if it might just be with each other; he wonders if they’ll ever let themselves find out.


End file.
